The recent energy crisis has stimulated interest in utilizing the tides to produce energy from sources which do not cause pollution or require the use of scarce, non-renewable and/or expensive resources. In this respect, interest has been focused on utilizing tidal energy.
Various inventions in the past utilized either wave and/or tidal energy. Those which were based on tidal energy used pulley systems and/or rack and pinion systems and were concerned primarily with obtaining continuous rotation of a shaft on both rise and fall of tides to provide continuous electrical generation. These prior art systems were by their very nature limited to use in areas having very marked tidal differences. Wave motors are forced to rely upon the vagaries of nature to produce waves strong enough to activate them.
Modern day electrical consumption peaks during certain hours of the day where the demand is greater. Prior art devices which rely on tidal action to produce a continuous generation of electricity are incapable of producing significant amounts of current at peak hours to render them practical as a peak performance source of electricity. They are, in effect, non-responsive to demand.